Alpha's Dark Desires
Chapter 72: A Test Or Prank

Chapter 72: A Test Or Prank

Kane POV:

What had started as a near-perfect day—despite the disastrous pancakes—was now unraveling into my worst nightmare. I’d spent the entire morning basking in her presence, thinking maybe, just maybe, we were finally on the same page, finally moving toward a fresh start. But then Elena had asked the one question I’d been dreading, the one thing I thought I had managed to escape, at least for a little while.

The contract with Ashley.

I felt my stomach twist into knots the moment her eyes darkened, filled with suspicion and something else I couldn’t quite place. Fear? Betrayal? She was trying so hard to mask it, but I could see it clear as day. And then the words came tumbling out of her mouth: "What was that contract about? Is it still intact?"

I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell her it was nothing, that it didn’t matter, that it had already been dealt with. But as much as I wanted to shield her from the truth, I couldn’t. Not anymore. Not after we’d promised each other honesty, a clean slate. I had thought—no, hoped—that by the time I had to come clean about this mess, I would’ve already terminated the damn thing. But here we were, and I hadn’t.

I swallowed hard, unable to meet her eyes as I croaked out the truth. Yes. The contract was still intact. Her expression didn’t falter, but the tension in her shoulders betrayed her. And when she asked if I’d been with Ashley since meeting her, the memory of that night—the scent of Ashley clinging to me like a taunt—rushed back, and I had to admit that, too. Yes.

Her silence was deafening, a weight that pressed down on my chest. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I forced myself to meet her gaze. Her voice was quieter now but no less piercing. "Why haven’t you terminated it yet?"

My throat tightened as I answered, my voice barely above a whisper. "Because I can’t fulfill her request, as the contract states."

I could see the conflict in her eyes—the need to know versus the fear of the answer. I braced myself as she asked the inevitable: "What is her request?"

And there it was, the moment I had been avoiding. My jaw tightened as I forced the words out. "She wants a session with me... while you watch." My voice was sharp, laced with disgust—not at Elena, but at the mere idea of it. "I can’t. I won’t do that to you."

Her reaction was immediate, her eyes widening in a mixture of shock and horror. And I hated myself for being the one to put that look on her face. My hands clenched into fists as I sat back on my heels, watching her struggle to process what I had just said.

The truth was, this wasn’t just about the contract or Ashley anymore. It was about everything—the shadows of my past, the mistakes I’d made, and the fear that I could lose the one person who mattered most. Elena deserved better than this, better than me, but I couldn’t bring myself to let her go. I needed her to believe me when I said I was done with that part of my life, that I’d walk away from it all for her. Because it was true.

"I swear to you, Elena," I said, my voice steady but laced with desperation, "I don’t want that life anymore. I don’t want her. It’s you. Only you. I’ll figure out a way to end this, to fix it. Just... just don’t give up on me."

She didn’t say anything, her silence more painful than any words she could’ve thrown at me. But I stayed where I was, kneeling before her, hoping against hope that she’d find it in her heart to believe me. That she’d see the man I was trying to become for her, even if I wasn’t there yet.

As she stood up, still not saying a word, a cold knot of panic formed in my chest. Dusk had crept in, painting the room in muted shadows, and I hadn’t even noticed until now. My eyes stayed glued to her, my nerves fraying with every passing second of silence. I was walking on eggshells, barely breathing, terrified of what she might do next.

Would she run again?

She’d promised me she wouldn’t—that she was done running. But that promise was made before she learned the truth, before she saw the darker parts of me laid bare in that contract. I had no illusions about how she saw me right now: a monster, maybe, or at the very least, a man who had desires so far removed from her own that they seemed to come from another world. She looked at the contract as if it were a cursed artifact, something pulled straight from the pits of hell. And if I wasn’t worried that she might bolt, I might’ve found her innocence endearing—even amusing.

But this wasn’t the time for amusement.

I knew what scared her the most: pain. The idea of it, the imagery her mind conjured when she read those words. And she wasn’t wrong; BDSM could involve pain, but it was never just about that. Not for me. Sure, the desire to dominate ran deep in me, a part of my DNA, intensified by the very nature of what I was—an Alpha. It was ingrained in who I was, in how I operated, in the way I commanded control over my world. But BDSM wasn’t just about pain; it was about trust, about connection, about surrendering to one another in a way most people would never understand.

I couldn’t expect her to understand that now, not with fear written all over her face. Not yet.

I clenched my fists at my sides, steadying myself. She wasn’t running—not yet—but her silence was deafening, and it cut deeper than I cared to admit. If I had any hope of keeping her here, of convincing her that this thing between us was worth fighting for, I needed to tread carefully. For once, I couldn’t rely on brute strength or stubborn will. This wasn’t a battle I could win by force or dominance; this was a fight that required patience and understanding—two things I wasn’t exactly known for. But for her? For Elena? I’d try. I’d do whatever it took.

"Elena," I said softly, my voice breaking the silence like a tentative knock on a locked door. "Please... just talk to me. Don’t keep it all bottled up. Tell me what you’re thinking."

She finally looked at me, her wide, uncertain eyes piercing through the dim light of the room. The fear was still there, but so was something else—something that looked a lot like hope, though it was faint and fragile, like a candle flickering in the wind. I latched onto that flicker, holding onto it like a lifeline.

"I know this is a lot," I continued, my voice steadier now, though my heart was racing. "I know it’s overwhelming, and it’s nothing like what you expected. But I swear to you, Elena, I’m done with that life. I don’t need it. I don’t want it. Not if it means losing you."

She didn’t respond right away, her gaze shifting back to the contract in her hands. I hated the sight of it, hated the way it loomed between us like a physical wall. But I stayed where I was, kneeling on the floor like a man begging for redemption, because that’s exactly what I was. If I could just make her see, if I could just get her to understand... maybe, just maybe, we’d have a chance.

She sighed—a long, heavy one that made my heart stop. I braced myself, certain that whatever she was about to say would either shatter me or give me the tiniest sliver of hope to hold onto. And then, out of nowhere, she dropped the contract onto the table like it was nothing and said, "Let’s go out for dinner. I’m hungry."

I blinked.

Wait. What?

Was this... a test? Some kind of trap? Women were complicated, sure, but this felt like some next-level mystery I wasn’t equipped to solve. Here I was, laying myself bare, my heart practically in my hands, ready to fight for her, and she’s... hungry?

"Uh... dinner?" I asked, my voice laced with confusion.

"Yes," she replied, her tone casual, almost dismissive. "I want food. Something other than burnt pancakes or depressing conversations. Let’s just... go out, Kane."

I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out if there was a hidden message in her words, some deeper meaning I wasn’t catching. But her face gave nothing away except impatience.

"Are you messing with me?" I asked cautiously.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she crossed her arms. "Do I look like I’m messing with you? I’m hungry, Kane. I want to eat. Outside. With you. Can we do that, or are you going to keep staring at me like I just spoke in tongues?"